Where do MACRO Photographers go during winter????

[sonyalpha]

I have just realised that I have been an active member here since the beginning of summer after the Photomacrography site was recommended by member DaveW:

I have just had a horrible thought:

Just what am I going to do when all the usual UK insects have died or hibernated for winter???

How can I post here without a subject?

What do other Macro enthusiasts do?

Or.............do you all have a stash of frozen or dried subjects tucked away some place??

I took my Macro kit off the camera yesterday to give the original (unused) kit lens a try:

I do realise there are another few weeks to go yet:

But any ideas will be very welcome:

sonyalpha

[NikonUser]

Surely you are joking.

"Winter" in Middle England if like a hot summer day in Canada.

Unless your ground freezes solid (unlikely) and your ponds and rivers freeze solid (equally unlikely) you can find lots of life in the soil and in the water,
From what I remember, moths fly all year in the UK.

If the insects are hibernating, wake them up!

Seriously, it may be harder to find subjects in the Winter but they are still there.

[shrek]

You can photography somes Minérals ,the dont no sensitive from Winter

jp

[corvus]

sonyalpha, shreck is correct - there are plenty of things to photograph during the winter. Some of them might even be on your dinner table.

[DaveW]

You play on the computer as you are too lazy to set up table top subjects!

DaveW

[sonyalpha]

Thank you folks for all the interesting suggestions:

Rather than lose track on here.......I will see what I can do..............perhaps to explore the joys of tripod and stacking?

sonyalpha

[DaveW]

You could always try these in the close season SA:-

http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... highlight=

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2009/05/ho ... h-one.html

http://www.amateursnapper.com/photograp ... ater-drops

http://www.nikonians.org/html/resources ... oral1.html

Or you could have a go at Brian's (Lord V''s) refracting water drops:-

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/sho ... p?t=807056

http://lordv.smugmug.com/

I am sure he will give us all advice with any problems we get?

DaveW

[Harold Gough]

Perhaps they stay indoors to keep their hands warm.

A pair of these will keep you able to use your cameras in all but very cold weather, giving a good level of insulation against the cold but maintaining good dexterity:

http://www.trekmates.co.uk/202/Trekmate ... Glove.html

Harold

[DQE]

We get to view the macro (bug) photos of Australians, South Americans, and South Africans, as well as the New Zealanders.

Where I live, near Portland, Maine, it is very cold for many months, with snow covering the ground continuously for up to several months in a row. Some bug life returns, intermittently, in April but most waits until the first warm days in May. Leaves return to the trees and bushes by about mid-May. Hibernating seems attractive in such cold climates!

I wonder if it's possible to create a large indoor "insectarium" and convince an ecologically balanced set of bugs to act as if it were summer? Just a thought, not a serious proposal...perhaps one could charge desperate macro photographers for photographic privileges?

[Harold Gough]

I wonder if it's possible to create a large indoor "insectarium" and convince an ecologically balanced set of bugs to act as if it were summer?

That means not only summer temperatures but long (timer-controlled) artificial daylength.

If you want to go the whole way:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Living-Tropical ... 1861081235

Harold

[Craig Gerard]

SA,

You might also consider a visit to the Eden Project. Has anyone been there? What was your impression?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eden_Project

Craig

[sonyalpha]

Brilliant!!!

I am so pleased that this cry for advice received so many interesting responses.............they may help other macro enthusiasts:

By hook or by crook I promise to keep the odd Macro shot appearing here during the forthcoming winter so that I don't lose my touch:

It looks as though I will be digging under rocks and exploring the nooks and crannies of our Victorian house for subjects................I'm not really into shots of sugar or salt:

The trip to Cornwall and the Eden Project isn't on...nor is keeping creepy crawlies in an indoor greenhouse.......but I will do my best:

sonyalpha

[LordV]

Sa- winter is small bug season - especially springtails - you need a compost heap or leaf litter. As long as it is sunny I still get hoverflies and flies in winter and attract them to a sunny bush by spraying the leaves with a sugar/honey mix.
You can always fall back to doing bubble interference patterns or falling drop shots but I prefer doing dewdrops or frost shots outside.

Brian v.